If you're planning on writing a Hunger Games Fanfiction
by PottedCactus
Summary: If you're planning on writing a Hunger Games Fanfiction, here are some pointers that will help your story stand out, in the awesome sense of the term.


Why do we become utterly engrossed in some stories, while others are almost torturous to slog through? You can probably find a plethora of articles that can help your writing with a simple Google search, though much of it has to do with your writing style and word choice. More specifically, though, I want to address Hunger Games fan fiction. I have read through a lot of these in the past few months, and I have found a lot of gems that have kept me up at night as I wonder what I will find in the next chapter. On the other hand, there is also a huge pile of bland, boring material that I can't even force myself through. So what makes a story "good" or "bad"? Writing style aside, I would like to address some of the more common issues that I often come across in Hunger Games fan fiction stories that aren't so awesome. To me, these issues mark the amateur writer or the writer that doesn't really care all that much about the Hunger Games Universe. If you plan on writing a Hunger Games fanfiction, this is a list of things to avoid:

**1) Characters with relatives in prior games**  
I understand that you want to give your character an interesting background, but using a story like this is like your parents giving you money for Christmas- yea, it works, but there's just no thought or love in it. Moreover, I want to express just how unlikely this situation is. Let's take District 6 for example. According to Capitol PN, District 6 has almost 800,000 people. I will use the United States census for comparison, though Panem will likely have a higher mortality rate because of the peacekeepers constantly pointing guns at citizens and their never-ending struggle with poverty and hunger. I'm not going to even factor in the reaped tributes each year, because, honestly, there are so many deaths in the United States in a normal year that the one additional glorified death that Panem has will not really change the ratio. Assuming a stable or expansive population pyramid, the ratio of reaping eligible members (12 to 18 yrs old) to total population is about 1.8 to 6, which is almost 1 in 3. This means that in any given year in the 800,000 population District 6, there are around 240,000 eligible tributes. Let's be generous and say that the average family size is 6 kids, which still makes a .0025% chance that a person in any given family will be picked, and a .0000000625% chance that two members of the same family will be picked, and that doesn't even take into account the limited time that members of a family will remain in the eligible age group. Even in District 12, the most unpopulous district at around 8,000 people, the odds of any single person from a 6-member family reaped is about .25% (that's a quarter of one percent), and the odds of two family members being picked .000625%. That's right, folks, there is a better chance that a tribute be killed by an asteroid impact than there is for his older brother to have been reaped, and honestly, how cool would that be? A guy is thinking about how his older brother got killed by an asteroid as he goes to reaping. Now that's a story that would grab people's attention!

Now I get that career districts will be slightly different. If two members of a family train together, then volunteer for family honor, that is another matter entirely. I'm cool with that, but that leads me to my next item:

**2) A single volunteer in career district reapings**  
When I read a reaping story from a supposed career district that shows a single tribute in the crowd shouting out to volunteer, it makes me wonder what happened to all the other tributes who wanted to volunteer? Was there a pact between the other volunteers that only this one tribute should volunteer? Most of the time, this isn't addressed at all, and the competitive spirit that should accompany a career district reaping is lost. This single deluded volunteer could easily be in an out-district reaping for all the crowd seems to care about who represents the district. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing how people spin career district reapings, but simply having a single deluded tribute happy and excited to volunteer is not in the spirit of career districts. I know that the novel is written from a District 12 perspective, where they see the games as a death trap, so let me put it this way. I see a career reaping story where only a single person volunteers as strange as one might see a political election where a guy off the street with some opinions gets into office to represent a country without any opposition or feedback from the people. Career districts care about who represents them in the games just as much as we care about who represents our country in politics, or, say, the Olympics. Do we just let random Joe who feels like he has a chance in the pole vault volunteer to go, or do we hold trials to test who is the best and only allow only the best and most qualified person to go? Do you see the difference? Good. I look forward to seeing some awesome career reapings in the future, and possibly some asteroid impacts. However, feel free to leave out the stuff that doesn't really matter, such as…

**3) The mention of drawing blood before the reaping.**  
Yes, I know that this is how they keep track of who is present and who is not, but in the big picture, this is such an insignificant detail. I am surprised at how many reaping stories include this trivial detail, but ignore more important things that should be addressed, such as what the area where the reaping physically looks like, the atmosphere of the crowd, how the crowd is organized, etc. It's like telling a story about Hitler, but only explaining that he is wearing black, shiny shoes and completely ignoring everything else. It's just so random, and you should really be explaining other things. It's okay to mention this event, but there are far more important things to show. Speaking of skewed viewpoints...

**4) Only thinking like a tribute.**  
The problem with a lot of stories I read is that they cater to the tribute's needs. This is fine if you want to bring the reader into the tribute's world, but as author, you must remember that the gamemakers are always in control of the games. They will make sure that every single day, something interesting happens; their lives depend on it. You have to think like a gamemaker. How can we create the most drama? If two tributes are close friends or lovers, gamemakers will likely incite a situation where their bond is tested, maybe even kill one just to see the other's reaction. They want a show. Whether the tributes realize that they are in the arena or not, they are still subject to the gamemakers. If the tributes are being boring or rebellious, the gamemakers will make sure that tribute dies, no matter how great a warrior he may be. Titus, for example. On the other hand, a tribute will only be spared if he or she is a crowd favorite. To write the story in the arena, you have to think like a gamemaker, and make decisions like a gamemaker. This brings me to my next point…

**5) Where are the Feasts?**  
I read a lot of SYOT stories in preparation for the one I recently wrote, and, out of all of the completed ones, only one of them contained a feast. Katniss mentioned that they were a relatively common event, so why is it that so few stories contain feasts? In terms of group psychology, it would make sense that in any given games, small groups of two or three allies will form and will spread out across the arena and hide from the other groups. How do we bring them back together? Random chance, according to a lot of stories I have read. Somehow, all the tributes manage to stumble into each other up until the very end. It makes for great story flow, but, honestly, that's not very realistic. In a more believable scenario, the games would become boring as we sit and wait for the careers to scour out every single other tribute from every corner of the arena. A feast is in order! Ok, you say, but my tribute (Let's call him "Thresh") is totally self-sufficient and doesn't need anything. How can I convince him to come to a feast? Silly question if you're thinking like a gamemaker. You are in charge of the arena. If there's nothing he wants, then make him need something. He gets attacked by a flock of birds that carry away all his stuff and all the edible plants in the arena wilt and die. Make the announcement, and every tribute will now have the choice of either starving to death or fighting for food. Game on. And NOW we have a true Hunger Games on our hands! Lots of blood is guaranteed to be spilt, and with any luck, you'll have a victor. Or, you might just end up with a career pack left. So what do you do now? Whatever you want, just make sure to avoid…

**6) Career packs crumbling into petty squabbles**  
This one requires a bit of explaining. In the Hunger Games, career district victors are fairly common. By the 15th or 20th Hunger Games, it is probably a common thing for a career pack to finally hunt down the last out-district tribute, and find themselves alone in the arena. So what happens now? You're first reaction is probably that they all go neanderthal on each other, but step back a moment and think about it. Career tributes have entered the games to bring honor to their district, which means that as this situation becomes commonplace, they will have come up with a dignified strategy to deal with it. Imagine a survival story where there is a group of disaster survivors that find out that one person must jump from the raft in order for the others to survive. Do they all go neanderthal on each other, or do they have an orderly way to resolve the issue? I'm not saying that the careers draw straws, but I feel like they would have a noble way to resolve the issue. Perhaps they have one-on-one battles to the death, like a jousting tournament? Perhaps they recreate the bloodbath? Do they dare each other to do deadly stunts? I don't know, but I feel like they deserve a little more credit than saying that the pack just crumbles at the end. Hey, career tributes are people too! Remember, these tributes are going to have to live with what they have done for the rest of their lives. Give them some respect and let them go out with some dignity! End your story strong, with a unique viewpoint, and you will make sure to leave an impact on your readers. Oh, and let me know if this was any help to you. I guess that part's optional, but it'd be nice to get some feedback. Have fun killing tributes!


End file.
